Five minutes now, a useful record later
The whole idea rests on one thing: taking comparable photos on a repeating schedule. Everything else is Mole Detective doing the tedious part for you.
The routine
Photograph a body area
Pick an area — upper back, left arm, right calf — and take one photo of it in even light against a plain background. The app works through the areas with you so you know what has been covered and what has not. Getting someone to take the back shots is the usual approach.
Moles are found automatically
A detection model reads the photo and marks every mole it finds, with a boundary around each. You get a chance to correct it: add one it missed, delete anything that was a freckle or a shadow.
They are matched to the moles you already have
This is the hard part and the reason the app exists. Your new photo will not be taken from exactly the same spot as the last one, so the app works out the geometry between the two and pairs up the same mole in both. Once matched, a mole has a photo history rather than being a fresh discovery every session.
The images are compared
Each matched mole is measured against its own earlier photos: how much bigger in the frame, how much darker, how much less regular in outline. The ones whose measurements have moved are listed first, along with moles appearing for the first time.
You review your record
Instead of hunting through a camera roll, you get a short list of what looks different. Put this session next to any earlier one, step through the comparisons, and take a close-up of anything you want a better photo of.
How often is it worth doing?
Entirely up to you — this is about how detailed a photo record you want, and how much time you want to spend building it. Whatever interval you pick, the app will remind you.
Every few months
A comfortable default. Enough sessions to build a history without it becoming a chore.
Monthly
A denser record, and worth the effort if you have a lot of moles to keep straight.
Consistency over frequency
Two careful sets a year compare far better than six rushed ones taken differently.
Getting a photo that compares well
Even, indirect light
Daylight near a window beats a ceiling light directly overhead, which casts hard shadows.
Consistent distance
Fill the frame with the body area and stand roughly the same distance away each time.
Same pose
Arms in the same position, standing straight. Skin stretches, and a stretched mole measures differently.
Plain background
A blank wall makes the body outline easier to find and the mole positions easier to place.
Would this actually fit into your life?
That is genuinely the question we are trying to answer before launch. The survey asks how often you would realistically do this and what would stop you.
What this is, and what it is not
This routine produces a photo record and nothing more. Mole Detective compares images; it does not examine your skin and does not offer an opinion on what it finds. Anything to do with your health belongs with a qualified healthcare professional.